Assad, Putin meeting could mean end of Syrian war is close
[interview with anti-war activist, Brian Becker]

Syrian President Bashar Assad met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the resort city of Sochi, Russia on Monday. The two leaders spent three hours discussing military operations in Syria and the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. Brian Becker of the anti-war ANSWER Coalition, tells RT America’s Anya Parampil that the meeting could signify that the six-year Syrian War is coming to a close.

President Bashar al-Assad, during a work visit he paid to Russia on Tuesday, held a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi City in presence of senior Russian political and military officials.
President Putin congratulated President al-Assad on the successes achieved by Syria in the framework of combating terrorism, and on approaching victory over terrorism by the Syrian people.

President al-Assad indicated that the victories achieved against terrorism led to the return of security to many areas and subsequently, citizens returned to them and the wheel of normal life began to move again, in addition to pushing the political track forwards to find solution to the crisis in Syria.
President al-Assad conveyed thanks by the Syrian people to President Putin and the friendly and loyal Russian people for what Russia has done to protect the Syrians in face of terrorism, and to protect the unity of the Syrian territories, in addition to what the Russian institutions have done to support the Syrian people in all domains, particularly the military institution which has made a lot of sacrifices to protect the sovereignty and independence of Syria and its territorial integrity.

President Putin expressed Russia’s high appreciation for the readiness expressed by the Syrian Government and its openness on whoever wants peace and for the support provided by President al-Assad to Astana process in which the participants succeeded in establishing de-escalation zones and starting dialogue with all the Syrian parties… … …

Syrian Army regains full control over new areas east of Palmyra, destroys Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS) gatherings in Deir Ezzor

Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Armed Forces units continued on Thursday carrying out counter-terrorism operations across the country, killing many of terrorists.

Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Armed Forces units established control over the area of Ahmar Valley in the eastern countryside of Palmyra City and thwarted an attack by the ISIS terrorists on a number of military posts to the south of the Air Force Academy in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, while the Syrian Air Force destroyed ISIS positions in Deir Ezzor and Homs provinces.

Syrian Arab Army units , aided by the Syrian air force and in cooperation with the allied supporting forces, thwarted an ISIS terrorist attack on the axes of the eastern direction of Deir Ezzor city……………………..

A Syrian Arab Army unit carried out a military operation against ISIS terrorists movement axes on the southern outskirts of Deir Ezzor city.

SANA reporter in Deir Ezzor Province said Sunday that the army operation destroyed one of ISIS terrorists’ vehicles, killed and injured a number of its members in Junaid battalion in al-Maqaber area.

A military source said a Syrian army unit destroyed a command center for Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists as it targeted their fortifications on the outskirts of the same neighborhood.

The Syrian Army troops targeted heavily a long military column of ISIL terrorists East of the newly-liberated city of Palmyra (Tadmur) en route to Deir Ezzur, inflicting heavy damage on the terrorists’ convoy.

Horrifying scenes of burned and mutilated bodies dot the mountainous desert around the newly-liberated Syrian city of Palmyra. RT’s Lizzie Phelan has come across the remains of four soldiers, which could be among the many undiscovered victims of Daesh (Islamic State, ISIS, ISIL).

The rocky desert around the ancient city of Palmyra has seen bloody battles recently as Daesh terrorists were being pushed back from the city by the Syrian Arab Army, for the second time in two years.

The terrorists retreated leaving behind a trail of corpses, young and old, many of ISIS ranks but also the victims of their brutal acts. Phelan reports that the Syrian Army simply does not have enough resources to scour hectares of the desert for remains, so it was not long before RT’s crew, accompanied by the Syrian forces, came across a site of atrocities.

Phelan describes finding charred and apparently decapitated bodies of two Syrian soldiers, while two more corpses were discovered in a ditch nearby………….

The Syrian military, backed by the Russian Air Force, has completed its operation to liberate the key city of Palmyra.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has reported to the commander-in-chief, President Vladimir Putin, that the historic city in Syria’s Homs province has been liberated, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

Syrian Army specialists have begun examining the historic part of Palmyra with the aim of demining the city, a RIA-Novosti correspondent reports.

Fortifications on the outskirts of Palmyra are being erected to prevent any counter-offensive by Islamic State, he added.

“The flag of the Islamic State terrorist group has been removed from the city of Palmyra. It should be viewed as a joint success of the Russian Air Force and the Syrian military. Shortly, the whole territory of Syria will be liberated from the terrorists,” Andrey Krasov, deputy head of the Russian parliament’s Committee for Defense, said.

A military source said that the Syrian army units carried out military operations against the ISIS terrorists’ gatherings and fortifications in the western countryside of Palmyra city; establishing full control over al-Tar strategic mountain overlooking Palmyra city after inflicting heavy losses upon the terrorist organization in personnel and equipment.

The source added that the army operations resulted in tightening control over the Qatari palace, asserting that the army units are pursuing ISIS terrorists in the region……………………………

Syrian Army units operating in the eastern countryside of Homs province established full control over the Palmyra Triangle area on the western outskirts of Palmyra city after eliminating the last gatherings of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS…) mercenary-terrorists in the area.

Local reporters for the Syrian National Agency said that Syrian Army units, in coordination with the supporting forces, engaged on Wednesday in fierce clashes with Daesh members located in Palmyra Triangle area, leaving scores of the terrorist dead or injured, adding that army units are chasing down the remaining terrorists in the area who are suffering great demoralization.

The reporter said that Syrian Army units are advancing in the direction of Palmyra Citadel, while engineering units are canvassing the Triangle area and dismantling IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) and landmines left behind by terrorists to impede the army’s progress.

The Syrian Army at the moment does not have any forces stationed in the citadel, as it is filled with improvised explosive devices, but it is under their control………………….

Syrian Army units, backed by the air force, destroyed Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS…) gatherings and positions in the surrounding of Deir Ezzor city.

The army units clashed with ISIS terrorist groups as the artillery shelled their positions and fortifications in the surrounding of al-Maqaber area in Deir Ezzor Province, killing and injuring many terrorists.

The Syrian air force destroyed an ISIS command center, fortified positions and two vehicles in the surrounding of al-Maqaber area and Juneid battalion.

Syrian Army units, in cooperation with backing forces, carried out military operations against the ISIS movement axes in Deir Ezzor city.

As part of their crimes against the Syrian people, ISIS terrorists pumped large amounts of the water from the Euphrates River through al-Babiri pumping station towards areas in eastern Aleppo in order to flood villages, causing damage to locals, farmlands and utilities.
Syrian Army builds barriers to stop the flooding of villages and farmland in Eastern Aleppo Countryside by Daesh mercenary-terrorists…………….

300 families who left their homes fleeing the terrorist organizations have returned back to Helfaya city in the northwestern countryside of Hama province.
Governor of Hama Mohammad al-Hazzouri told SANA that the families included 1500 persons, noting that their return back to Helfaya has come in the framework of implementing the reconciliation agreement reached recently to restore security and stability to the city, which is located 25 km northwest of Hama city.

In a relevant context, Hama Governorate has provided temporary residential places to 6 families from Jaabar village in the countryside of Raqqa who arrived in Hama on Monday fleeing ISIS terrorists.

Governor of Damascus Countryside Alaa Ibrahim inspected on Wednesday the services situation in Serghaya town and the implemented measures to settle the status of armed persons after the departure of terrorists from the town within the framework of continued local reconciliations in the western part of the province.
In a press statement during the visit, the Governor said the process of settling the legal status of about 700 persons from the town of Serghaya has been embarked on, noting that a large number of those persons will join the military service, while the others will return to their normal lives………………

Syrian Arab Army and Syrian Armed Forces units continued targeting terrorists from Daesh, al-Nusra, and other terror groups affiliated to them in several areas in the country, killing scores of mercenary-terrorists and destroying their vehicles.

New Russian humanitarian aid distributed in Hama countryside for the inhabitants of Al-Sqailbiyeh city, 48 km to the northwest of Hama.

The Hmeimim-based Russian Coordination Center said in a statement on Monday that it distributed food supplies of rice, flour, sugar and tanked meats to about 20,000 civilians in Al-Sqailbiyeh city, in coincidence with offering medical services and medicine to the patients by doctors of the mobile medical clinic…………………

Syrian Army units operating in the eastern countryside of Homs established control over a number of hills in Jahar area after eliminating the remaining Daesh (ISIS, ISIL apes & rats) gatherings there.

Syrian Army units, in cooperation with the allied and supporting forces, carried out during the past few hours a swift military operation in which they established control over a number of strategic hills surrounding Jahar gas station to the northwest of Tadmur (Palmyra) city.

A number of vehicles and various kinds of ammunition were destroyed as a result of the operation. A number of Daesh mercenary-terrorists were killed and others were injured, while the rest of them fled towards the wells area leaving behind their arms.

Meanwhile, this Monday the Syrian Army eliminated all members of a Daesh mercenary-terrorist gangs and destroyed their weapons’ depot and a car equipped with heavy cannon near Ghassan Abboud roundabout in the city…………….

A video, released on Monday [13, February 2017] shows the destroyed facade of the Roman theater and a tetrapylon which dates back to 270 AD. ~ The video compares the state of the architectural landmark from June 6, 2016, when all four columns and the facade of the theater were intact, to their present state from February 5. ~ The terrorists blew up the proscenium, the central part of the ancient theater.

According to the Russian Defense ministry, Syrian troops backed by Russian jets are currently continuing their advance, with less than 20km left to Palmyra. It also stated that over the past week Russian jets made more than 90 assault sorties: “The Syrian government forces destroyed more than 180 objects of militant infrastructure, including more than 60 checkpoint, 15 warehouses storing weapons, ammunition and military vehicles, 43 armored cars and jeeps, equipped with heavy machine guns. Casualties among terrorists amounted to more than 200 people”, the ministry stated on Monday, adding that since February 7 the Syrian army established control over a territory of 22sq km, liberating the settlements of El Kuleybe and Kirkuk. In total, since the government forces launched the operation to free Homs province from jihadists, they liberated some 805sq km of land…(…read more…)…

On the advance of ISIS militants from Mosul toward Palmyra, Virginia Senator Richard Black (R) expressed doubt that the US-led coalition could have overlooked such a regrouping, pointing to possible interests of the US and regional players.

Given that the territory between areas occupied by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and Palmyra is a “very barren” rocky desert, “it is unconceivable that the American-led collation could not have seen this massive army moving towards Palmyra,” Senator Black said.

“I was surprised that ISIS was able to attack Palmyra. It’s important to recognize that the distance from ISIS-held territory [to] Palmyra is approximately 100 miles,” added the senator, who has repeatedly voiced support for Syrian President Bashar Assad in battling the jihadists.

The fact that the US-led coalition seemingly turned a blind eye to the imminent terrorist threat to the UNESCO world heritage site is not a coincidence, he argues, but rather a part of the foreign policy strategy employed by the current White House administration towards Islamic State….>>>…>>>…

The operation to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Daesh terror group appears to have enabled thousands of Islamist fighters to flood toward central Syria, Russian analyst Sergei Demidenko told RIA Novosti.

On Sunday Russia’s Center for Syrian reconciliation reported that the Daesh terror group was making plans to transfer up to 5,000 fighters from Mosul to the regions of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa in Syria.

In early October a military source told RIA Novosti that the US had agreed with Saudi Arabia to provide Daesh militants a safe passage from Mosul, if they were prepared to flee the city without a fight.

The source said that Washington and Riyadh’s plan envisages enabling the terrorists to attack towns in central and eastern Syria under the control of government forces.

“Over 9,000 Daesh militants will be transferred from Mosul to the Eastern regions of Syria for a subsequent major offensive, which intends to capture Deir ez-Zor and Palmyra,” the source told the agency at the time.

The Center for Syrian Reconciliation said that Sunday more than 4,000 Daesh militants had regrouped for the assault to retake Palmyra, as the terrorists made a concerted effort to engineer a propaganda victory and morale boost after recent defeats to Syrian government forces, backed by Russia.

[Note by SyrianFreePress-WarPressInfo: Three days ago, U.S. aircraft had destroyed the radio infrastructure and SyriaTelecom antennas between Raqqa and Tadmur, to block communications of Syrian forces]…>>>…>>>

The fight for Aleppo is going to be a turning point in the Syrian war which could jumpstart the liberation of other Syrian cities, according to President Assad. Russian military correspondent, retired colonel Mikhail Khodarenok explains how the Russian military is going to use the experience of Palmyra’s liberation in the re-conquest of Aleppo.

In January, General Valery Gerasimov, current Chief of the General Staff of Russia’s Armed Forces revealed the plans of the Syrian Armed Forces to take the offensive along the entire frontline with the aerial support of the Russian military, Mikhail Khodarenok, military correspondent of Russia’s online newspaper Gazeta.ru writes in his article for the website.

Several months later, local fighting goes on in six Syrian regions. The most active operations are being carried out in Lattakia, Aleppo, Hama and Palmyra. In Damascus, the government forces continue to encircle the Eastern Ghouta district occupied by the militants. The clashes often come down to reciprocal skirmish from small arms and artillery strikes. Neither side to the conflict could boast any major military success. Apart from Aleppo, the fighting is done merely by reinforced squadrons and at times it looks quite strange, the expert says.

In his recent interview President Assad said that retaking the city of Aleppo from terrorists would jump start the liberation of other Syrian cities. It would be a springboard to move towards other cities and to liberate them from terrorists.

n order to evaluate the prospects of the Syrian army and its combatant value, Khodarenok reminds of last year’s liberation of Palmyra, which has become the major success of the government forces. The reviewing of this experience will provide rather a true-to-fact overview of what is going on in Syria.

Virginia State Senator Richard Black and Janice Kortkamp discuss the shameful situation in Syria, where the US government is actively arming and funding Al Nusra (Al Qaeda) and “conduits” (“moderates”), blending them together, and then using this model to exterminate the Syrian population.

VIDEO Description (published 8 July 2016): “Virginia State Senator Richard Black and Janice Kortkamp Fearing recently returned from trips to Syria — reporting on a reality far different than the lies the American people are being fed by the media. EIR’s Jeffrey Steinberg interviews both on their meetings and experiences with top officials and everyday Syrians”.

VIDEO and TRANSCRIPT of Previous Interview of Virginia State Senator Richard Black with Jeffrey Steinberg (6 May 2016).

Open Letter from U.S. Senator Richard H. Black to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad: “My personal thanks to the Syrian Arab Army and Air Force for protecting all patriotic Syrians, including religious minorities, raped, tortured, kidnapped and beheaded at the hands of the foreign jihadists” ~ 28 May 2014

The Iraqi fighter jets pounded and destroyed a strategic military base of the Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS) terrorist group in the Western part of Anbar province.

The ISIL’s Katiba Tabouk military base in the city of Qaem in Western Anbar province was completely annihilated on Sunday after the Iraqi army received intelligence tips about the exact location of the military base.

Tens of ISIL terrorists were killed and wounded in the Iraqi fighter jets’ air raids on their military positions in Qaem city.

Meantime, the Iraqi warplanes hit hard ISIL’s concentration centers in strategic Heet region located 70 kilometers to the West of al-Ramadi city.

The ISIL’s arms and ammunition depots were also destroyed in the Iraqi airstrikes in Heet region.

Also the Iraqi army’s engineering units continued to defuse bombs and mines laid by the ISIL throughout the city of Fallujah.

A Syrian senior military expert underlined that the Syrian army’s military operations in the Eastern part of Homs province will prevent the Takfiri terrorists from escaping Iraq to Eastern Syria.

The Syrian army’s advances in Eastern Homs is taking place with the goal of cutting the terrorists supply routes in Syria and preventing them from finding a way for escape to Syria from Iraq

The Homs operations will also cut the terrorists’ supply routes in Raqqa province and open up the path for supplying the Syrian army and it allies with military hardware and equipment.

Earlier on Thursday, media reports said that the Syrian army with the support of pro-government forces repulsed terrorists’ attack on army’s defense lines in a key region in the Eastern part of Homs province.

President Bashar al-Assad received on Thursday US Senator Richard Black and discussed with him the situation in Syria and the foreign-backed terrorism war waged against it.
The President highlighted during the discussion that the terrorist attacks which have hit several areas in the world prove that terrorism knows no borders.
Fighting terrorism, he stressed, demands a joint international effort that is not limited to the military level only but goes beyond to include fighting the extremist Wahhabi thinking underpinning terrorism, said President al-Assad.

US senator Richard Black held a press conference on Thursday at Four Seasons in Damascus, talking about his visit to Syria and saying “I had the honor to meet President Bashar al-Assad and his wife,” adding “the impression was excellent.”

with the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East John X Yazigi at the Mariamite Cathedral in Damascus in the presence of Syria’s Permanent envoy to the UN, Bashar al-Jaafari.

The US Senator noted that he will convey the reality of what is happening in Syria which refutes the false news and allegations circulated through media outlets about the events in the country.

In a relevant context, Senator Black visited some injured soldiers at Ahmad Hamish Hospital in Damascus and inspected the services provided to its departments and the artificial limbs factory.

Mr. Black expressed deep concern over the economic blockade imposed by the US on Syria which restrained the latter’s ability to import and manufacture artificial limbs and provide necessary medical care to the injured, describing such act as a crime against humanity.

Virginia State Senator Richard Black:
…“I’m very proud to be here with the people of Syria, the people of Syria are very heroic. It is incredible. I believe that someday when this war is over, history will record that a country of 23 million courageous people had such strength and unity that they were able to combat the major powers of the entire world” …

…The gunmen who have been supported by the United States, France, Britain, NATO, the European Union, and the Gulf states have utterly destroyed civilization. In their desire to topple the one secular free nation in the Middle East, they have caused utter destruction and devastation throughout the Middle East”…

…“What happened in Syria was not a domestic issue; but it was planned, it was a covert action by a number of intelligence agencies, from Western powers, from Saudi Arabia, from Turkey, all led by the Muslim Brotherhood”…

The Syrian Air Force and Syrian Arab Army units continued targeting terrorist organizations on Wednesday, destroying a position for Jabhat al-Nusra leaders in Daraa province and killing many terrorists in Aleppo, Homs, and Hama.

An army unit destroyed a center for Jabhat al-Nusra leaders in al-Hammadin area in Daraa al-Mahatta in the southern city of Daraa.

A military source explained that an army unit directly hit fortified positions of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in al-Hammadin area, which resulted in destroying a center for leaders within the organization, leaving all those inside it dead or injured.

Earlier on Tuesday, army units foiled an attack launched by groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra on a military post in Daraa al-Mahata and destroyed two machinegun-equipped vehicles in the eastern countryside of Daraa province.

Tens of families have started to return to their houses in Palmyra city, expressing confidence that the Syrian army will absolutely triumph over terrorism.

“Being back at the house feels like coming back to homeland,” said Amal al-Adas with tears feeling in her eyes. “Victory over ISIS is victory over disbelief and criminality,” she added.

Hazar Trad saw that the locals’ return to their homes after ISIS terrorists wreaked havoc in Palmyra is a message to the world that: “the Syrians have been and will always remain one united family in the face of all those who want to dismember it.”

Al-Qaryatayn had been held by terrorist groups since late August. The liberation of the city proclaimed April 3 came days after Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) was pushed out of the ancient city of Palmyra, 100km (60 miles) to the east.

The jihadists apparently used a bulldozer to partially destroy St Elias Monastery, which dates back more than 1,500 years. Human bones from ancient graves are strewed amidst the rubble.

Inside the monastery there is an Assyrian church and all Christian symbols in it have been destroyed. In the church graveyard, the gravestones have been trashed and all the crosses removed.

Thankfully, the monastery’s beautiful old church is still standing, but has been severely desecrated. After an apparent attempt to set the building on fire from inside, the old beams look burnt and the floor is covered with burnt pages with texts in Assyrian from Christian holy books.

There is not one building left in Al-Qaryatayn that has escaped damage from the fighting.

The General Command of the Army and the Armed Forces confirmed Sunday that the army units, aided by the popular defense groups and backed by the Syrian and Russian Air Forces, restored security and stability to al-Qaryatain city and the farms surrounding it in southeastern Homs.

In a statement, the Army Command said retaking al-Qaryatain city is just another severe blow to ISIS terrorists, following their successive defeats in tens of villages and towns in eastern Aleppo, and most recently in Palmyra.

The statement described the military operation in al-Qaryatain as “precise” and “swift” during which large numbers of ISIS terrorists were killed after all their supply routes to the city were cut off and the overlooking mountains and hills controlled.

Taking control of the city came after the army units, in cooperation with the supporting forces, earlier advanced further inside it from various directions, removing all mines on their way, and had established control over the northern neighborhood.

The army units have hunted down fleeing ISIS terrorists inside the city and dismantled scores of explosive devices and mines left behind.

The people in several ISIL-controlled areas across Syria have revolted against the Takfiri terrorists after the Syrian army and their popular allies in major victory won back the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur) last Sunday.

The unique operations in Palmyra changed the balance of power in Syria’s battlefronts to the extent that the Syrian people in other parts of Syria have been encouraged to revolt against the ISIL and other terrorist groups.

The Syrian people now believe that their political system has not been defeated, and rather gained breakthroughs in different battlefield, diplomatic and political areas.

A mass grave was uncovered by the popular defense groups in the northeastern parts of Tadmour (Palmyra) city containing bodies of people who were killed by ISIS terrorists.
As the engineering units and popular defense groups were combing the area, they uncovered the mass grave and managed to pull 25 corpses, 3 of them are children and 5 others women in Masakin al-Jahizia neighborhood in the city.
Later, the number of bodies removed from the grave has reached 40 after pulling out 15 bodies, all of them belonging to women and children.
The source said that efforts continue to pull more bodies from the grave, adding that some of the bodies were beheaded and others were brutally tortured.

Another team of Russian bomb disposal experts has headed to Syria to help their Syrian counterparts in defusing mines left behind by ISIS terrorists in Palmyra before their defeat last Sunday.

Reports of the Syrian Armed Force’s Operations in Other Provinces
ISIS loses more members, command centers and vehicles in Syrian army operations
The Syrian army establishes control over a hill in eastern Hama, destroyed 5 vehicles for terrorists in Daraa and Sweida

(By Richard Edmondson)
Blood and human lives, in large amounts, were sacrificed in the retaking of Palmyra. According to one report, more than 180 soldiers with the Syrian Army and their allied forces were killed in the fighting. Doubtless among these are plenty of examples of courage and sacrifice, but one story seems to be emerging above all others–that of Aleksandr Prochorenko.

At just 25 years of age, Aleksandr, a Russian Special Operations officer, was sent into Palmyra in advance of the military drive to liberate the city. His job? To identify ISIS positions and to pass their coordinates along to command for purpose of airstrikes.

Russian soldiers in Syria are obviously well-trained. But perhaps even more important than that, they are highly motivated. Motivation is important, nay, crucial in war. And it only comes from knowing precisely what you are fighting and why. Russian soldiers know that in ISIS they are battling an evil and malevolent scourge of hideous proportions, this not only in terms of its rank and file recruits but also with regard to the world leaders backing this demonic, hoodlum army. The Russians are exposed to truth through their media, and they have confidence in their country’s leadership. Vladimir Putin’s approval rating in Russia is near 90 percent.

Thankfully for Russian soldiers, they don’t have to contend with any of this. When they are sent to war it is for reasons which are clearly and forthrightly articulated. And when they die it is in the interests primarily of their own country, or else humanity as a whole, rather than the narrow interests of a genocidal, apartheid state that finishes off moribund prisoners with a gunshot to the head as we saw occur in Israel last week.

And so a Russian hero, in the service of what is decent, went above and beyond the call of duty. And the world owes him its thanks. But instead, Western leaders couldn’t seem to bear even a simple statement acknowledging what he and his fellow combatants had achieved.

The Syrian Arab Army troops were out in force on the streets of Palmyra, Monday, after recapturing the ancient city and its encompassing UNESCO World Heritage site from the so called Islamic State (Daesh, IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

Soldiers on the ground thanked Russia for their contribution, explaining that they had taken Palmyra’s hills with the help of aerial assistance.

Syrian army soldiers are currently in the process of securing the ancient city, rooting out unexploded devices at various locations across the city. Numerous bombs and booby traps have been scattered across the region by IS who were repelled from the region on Sunday. On Monday, news came from the head of the Russian General Staff Valeri Gerasimov that Russia will be sending in bomb disposal experts and technology to assist in the mission.

Syrian government forces have retaken the ancient city of Palmyra and its residential areas from Daesh (ISIS). The Syrian armed forces now aim to use the desert city as a ‘launchpad’ to expand operations against the terrorist group: Raqqa and Deir Ezzour will be the next targets to be freed from foreign mercenaries and terrorists.

Certainly we must thank the loyal allies for fighting with all Syrians a war against the mercenaries and military intelligence services from half the world, but remember that on the ground are the Syrian Arab Army and the Special Unit of Popular Forces that have made the strongest sacrifices, and along with Hezbollah and the Iranian Brigades have shed much blood of martyrs.

If Russia had not had on the battlefields a serious Syrian army, trained, motivated, professional, could not get, only from the sky, the results that were obtained.

Therefore, honor to the Russian ally for the high ethical character and proven vailability, but today all the glory goes to all the Syrian Armed Forces, with a special thought and undying gratitude to the young Syrians martyrs soldiers, who in their best years have given their lives for their beloved homeland Syria.

Finally, without the permanent presence of a charismatic leader, a President who gave the example of unshakable loyalty and patriotism to the extreme consequences, the Army would not have a guide to which to refer, and where to find trust and confidence, and all it would have been more difficult.

Therefore, today more than ever, long life and honor to our heroic President Bashar Hafez al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
(SFP-WP Newsroom)

A VERY HAPPY EASTER !!! ALSO PALMYRA RESIDENTIAL CITY HAS BEEN TOTALLY LIBERATED: NOW IT’S UP TO RAQQA

After the historical Palmyra, also the residential Palmyra city has been liberated today by the Special Units of the Syrian Armed Forces, in joint operations with Hezbollah, the Iranian brigades, with aerial coverage by the Rusian Air Forces.

“Palmyra city is now fully cleared of Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS) terrorists after the army established complete control over all its parts, including the archeological site and the airport,” the source said in a statement.

The army’s engineering units have immediately embarked on combing the city, finding and dismantling hundreds of bombs and explosive devices planted by Daesh mercenary-terrorists between the ancient relics, houses and orchards, the source mentioned.

Army Command praises Palmyra victory, stresses that the Syrian Arab Army, with Popular Special Unit Forces and its Allies (Hezbollah, Iranian Brigades, Russian Air Forces) are the only forces capable of eradicating terrorism in the Middle East area, for the benefit of the whole world.

With Palmyra city under control, military operations against Daesh will expand starting from this springboard towards various axes and directions, on top being Deir Ezzor and Raqqa, especially that this victory helps in further tightening the noose around Daesh terrorists and cutting off their supply routes in the areas under their control until having these areas fully restored, the statement explained.

Army units, in cooperation with the popular defense groups, continued military operations to retake Tadmur (Palmyra city) where fierce clashes are taking place in various areas, with ISIS terrorists suffering heavy losses.

The operations have resulted in establishing full control over the neighborhoods of al-Mutaqa’idin, al-Ameriyeh and al-Jamiyat al-Gharbiyeh in Tadmur city, according to sources on the ground.

The archaeological Palmyra Castle was found to have sustained massive damage deliberately inflicted by ISIS terrorists before they have fled deep into Tadmur (Palmyra) city.

While it can only be seen from the outside, the castle seems to have had the stairway leading through its entrance blown up and completely demolished, along with many other parts of the castle’s structure.

NOTICE TO READERS

These infos are not intended to be shocking or to glorify violence in any way. These articles/images/videos are for educational purposes only, for documenting and try to explain the backdrop of a historical ruthless and bloody war, whose characteristics and details are routinely distorted and smothered by the dominant media.